Spinning - Fractal

Once I grasped how to spin on my wheel, I started to look around for different techniques that I could try in order to create unique yarns.

I had been using Andean plying almost exclusively on my drop spindle, and for the small amounts of spindle spun yarn I was producing this was fine, but for wheel-spun yarn I needed something a bit more robust. I tried spinning two singles, trying to preserve the colour changes, and plying together. This was fine, but didn’t give the effect I hoped for, so I decided to try fractal spinning. Fractal spinning involves spinning two or more singles to be plied together, but splitting the fibre in a specific way to generate a particular effect in the singles. It gives a reasonably even blend of colours over the yarn, though it still allows for some striping if the fibre is dyed that way.

I decided on a simple fraction to use for my spinning, ¼. To achieve this I unrolled the fibre and fluffed it up a little for ease. Then I split the fibre approximately evenly lengthways. I then had two equal pieces. I then split one of those pieces in half lengthwise again. So I had one thick piece and two thinner pieces. Finally I split both of the thinner pieces in half once more. I then had 1 thick piece and 4 thinner pieces. I rolled these into balls starting from the same end each time.

Make sure to roll the balls in the same direction or the colour changes will run the other way!

The first single is made up of just the 1 thick piece of fibre. Spin the whole length of the fibre into one single. Then, the second single is made up of the four thinner pieces; simply spin them one at a time, joining them as you go. Make sure to spin both singles in the same direction. This will provide two approximately equal length singles. Don’t worry if they’re not exactly equal lengths as the effect will be the same.

Then you can ply the two singles together to produce a yarn. What happens is that the fatter fibre ends up producing longer colour repeats in the single, while the thinner fibre produces shorter repeats. When plied together the colour blending occurs across all colours at some point in the yarn.

Where the colours are different, a barber pole effect occurs, where they are similar it appears more blended

I think this is an excellent way to work with hand dyed variegated fibre, unless you want to preserve the colour sequence of the fibre.
More on that in a future post.

This method can be used for more than two plies, if you wanted to create an even more blended effect, you could split the original fibre into three, split the second of those into two and the third into four. The possibilities are almost endless!

I took a similar approach with some scraps of fibre I had from sample boxes, and I spun this striping yarn which made a lovely Argosy scarf.

Patterns on the bias are very good for showing off self striping yarns

Dyeing - Food Colouring

There are a number of ways that you can dye yarn and fibre. One of the easiest is to use food colouring or Kool Aid. Make sure that you use packs without any added sugar!

First, you'll need to decide how long you would like your colour repeats to be. If you like variegated yarn then an average skein length should be fine. If you want a longer repeat then you might prefer to wind the yarn around something like a table, to get a longer skein.

Once you've got your skein, you can soak it overnight. This isn't crucial, but it should help the dye to take more evenly. If you're using food colouring rather than Kool Aid, you'll need to add a splash of vinegar to the soak.

When your yarn is soaked, you're ready to start dyeing. All of the dyes will stain, so protect your work area. A plastic sack would work fine. If you're using just one colour, you don't need to spread your yarn out much, but if you're aiming for three or more you will.

Next, make up your colours. If you're using Kool Aid, you don't need to follow the usual instructions. For all dyeing it's not the amount of water that you use that determine the depth of colour, it's the amount of dye compared to the amount of yarn. One sachet of Kool Aid will dye about 100g (4oz) of yarn. I use only a small amount of water (about a third of a pint) per colour because the yarn can only hold a small amount of water. If you're using food colouring, add a splash of vinegar to the dye solution too.

Kool-Aid dyes mixed and ready to use

Now, squeeze as much moisture out of the yarn as you can. I do this by wrapping it in an old towel and standing on it. Then spread the yarn out over the bin sack.

I use a paintbrush to apply the dye to the yarn, but you could use a dropper too. When applying the colour, make sure that it soaks all the way through to the underside of the skein so that you don't end up with un-dyed patches and try not to add too much water.

When you've finished painting, you need to set the dye by heating it. You could use a microwave or a pot on the stove, but I have an old plastic steamer that I use for dyeing. If you're going to use it for food in the future, make sure to only use food-safe dyes in it.
Wrap the yarn up in a heat-proof food bag or cling film, and pop it in the steamer for 20 minutes. This is plenty of time to set the dye. Once it's done, leave it to cool before you handle it. This is partly because it's hot, and partly because you might felt the yarn at this stage.

Take care when handling hot yarn, not only might it felt but you could scald yourself

Once the yarn is cool enough to handle, rinse it under a warm tap until the water runs clear.

Finally, hang the yarn to dry. If you used a long skein, you might choose to re-wind it into a shorter skein at this stage.

I tried using black food colouring to get a black yarn. It didn't work. The dyes separated out (black is actually made up of red and blue, in this case) but it still looks fab!

Experiment, because even if it doesn't work you might end up with something amazing!